Every year, malaria claims hundreds of thousands of lives, but researchers say that a new technique using bacteria to prevent transmission may help.

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FRIDAY, May 10, 2013
— In the ongoing battle against malaria,
bacteria may be our secret weapon, according to a study published recently in the
journal Science.

Although mosquitoes don't become infected
with malaria, they can carry the parasite around, where it reproduces in their
stomachs. The bacteria Wolbachia acts as a vaccine against malaria in
mosquitoes and not only stops the parasite from reproducing, but also stops
them from spreading the parasite to humans. The findings, researchers
said, could
help stop the deaths caused by malaria worldwide every
year.

"Wolbachia-based malaria control strategy has
been discussed for the last two decades," Zhiyong Xi, study author and
assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics at Michigan State
University, said in a statement. "Our work is the first to demonstrate
Wolbachia can be stably established in a key malaria vector, the mosquito
species Anopheles stephensi, which opens the door to use Wolbachia for malaria
control."

Wolbachia commonly infects insects, not humans, and
is passed from females to their offspring, researchers said. The bacteria
spread quickly throughout mosquito populations, according to the study, which
means that it may only have to be applied once.

"We developed the mosquito line carrying a
stable Wolbachia infection," Xi said. "We then seeded them into
uninfected populations and repeatedly produced a population of predominantly
Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes."

This technique, though still years away, is
promising, said Johanna Daily, MD, professor of medicine and microbiology
& immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. In areas of the
world where malaria is prevalent, such as Africa and Southeast Asia, they use
pesticides to kill mosquitoes. However, the pesticides are becoming less
effective, she said.

“The problem with spraying
pesticides is that mosquitoes have become resistant in many areas,”
she said. “We have a few different kinds of pesticides, but not
enough to keep up with how fast the mosquitoes are
adapting.”

The problem of resistance, she added, would likely
be eliminated if Wolbachia is used.

“It’s unlikely that mosquitoes
will be resistant to bacteria because it’s not killing
them,” Dr. Daily said.

“There area of the world where malaria is
very endemic,” she said. “People there may have hundreds of
infectious bites every year. We have a good sense of where these areas are, but
it’s been hard to get the transmission rate down. This should
help.”

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